Freshmeat
by GoodBadAndEverythinInBetween
Summary: Sakura is starting her freshman year at Konoha high. Thank god she has her friends to help her with lies, drama, life, and maybe even true love!  TemaShika/NaruHina/ and maybe a teensy bit of SakuSasu/SakuGaa.
1. Chapter 1

I'm working on another big story where you get to submit your own OC. Check it out...it's called "The Will of Fire". So I probably won't be taking this too seriously. Just a little bit of fun :P

Don't own anything.

So...here goes:

* * *

Sakura glanced around at the wide space in front of her apprehensively. A tall building loomed over her. In the centre courtyard, groups of friends were chatting excitedly as they got caught up on the drama of daily life in high school.

"H...hello? C…c…could you p…please tell m…m…me where the p…principal's office i…is?"

Sakura turned to find a shy-looking girl stuttering the question at her. The petite girl lowered her grey eyes bashfully as a light pink tinge spread across her cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm also new here, so I don't know. Maybe we could go together?"

"Th…that would b…be n…nice," she replied gratefully, "th...thank you."

"No problem. I'm Sakura Haruno, by the way. What's your name?"

"I…I'm Hinata Hyuuga," she lowered her eyes and let her short black-blue hair cover her face.

The two walked in a companionable silence for a while, until they reached the centre of the courtyard, where a wide stone bench dominated a large, shady area under a tree.

"Oh my god, she was like, all over him. She is such a fat slut. I mean, her and Sasuke? Like ew…"

The blonde who was speaking turned when she felt two pairs of eyes on her. Her baby blues narrowed dangerously.

"What are you two losers looking at? Get the hell out of my sight before I destroy you two…"

"Wow, touchy much?" muttered Sakura, rolling her eyes to herself.

"What did you say?" The girl hopped off the bench and started forward threateningly.

"Hard of hearing, are you?"

Hinata giggled at the stunned look on the blonde girl's face.

"Didn't ask for your opinion,Tenten. So shut the hell up."

The Asian girl shrugged and smiled, offering her hand to Sakura and Hinata.

"Hey, I'm Tenten. That blonde bimbo over there is Ino. Don't mind her. She's an idiot."

Hinata smiled timidly.

"You're Tenten? Do you know my cousin Neji?"

Tenten's face lit up.

"Neji Hyuga? Great guy. Too bad he had to leave early for his work experience…wait. Then you must be Hinata Hyuga, right?"

Hinata nodded happily.

"Hello, I'm Sakura. I'm new here."

Tenten nodded knowingly.

"The first year is always hard. With people like Ino around here, it's more of a circus than a school."

"Scaring the two froshies already, Tee-tee? That's just mean," came a sarcastic voice from behind Hinata.

"Oh, shut up, Tem. Just giving them a brief overview of the types of people they'll meet. Just got started. Maybe you wanna help…?"

"Sure."

A blonde girl with four pigtails joined Tenten on the bench.

"Hey, kids. I'm Temari. If you wanna survive here, the best thing you can do is listen to Tee-tee here. She'll help ya."

"So…back to my explanation. You got your popular, mysterious guys," started Tenten.

"…like Sasuke Uchiha," added Temari.

"Then the blonde bimbos, you've already met them. And also the smartasses, the jerks, the nerds, the freaks and the emos."

"Don't forget the squealing fangirls…" groaned Temari, "god. I totally hate them."

Sakura and Hinata digested this information with wide, serious eyes.

"Hey, Tem. What's up?"

A tall, lean guy with a ponytail walked up to her and idly joined her on the bench, with an arm draped around her.

"And this, frosh, is Shikamaru. Prime example of a smartass. Hey, Shika."

She leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek, which he accepted with a lazy smile.

"Hey, new kids. Did Temari already freak you out?" he grinned.

Sakura smiled brightly, ignoring the trembling Hinata beside her.

"Not at all."

"Tem, you're such a troublesome girl. What am I going to do with you?" he teased.

"I can think of something you'd enjoy very much, Shika," purred Temari.

"Woah, you two. PG 13 over there…" warned Tenten.

Temari giggled and shoved her boyfriend aside.

"Maybe later, if you're a good boy."

"Nah. Too much of a drag…" countered Shikamaru.

Tenten gave a loud cough.

"Right. Okay. We get it."

There was a loud squeal from behind the couple as a boy with dark hair walked past.

"Don't tell me. That's the boy Ino was talking about, right?" questioned Sakura.

"Jerk," muttered Temari.

"Yep," confirmed Tenten.

Ino ran after him, wobbling around unsteadily in her heels.

"Sasuke! Wait up!"

She crashed into a blonde boy who was running across the court.

"Outta my way, sucker," she muttered as she jostled him aside.

The boy gave her a dirty look and continued on his way before noticing the group sitting on the bench.

"Hey! Can someone please tell me where the office is?"

"Right that way!" Tenten indicated with her finger.

"Thanks!" he called.

Hinata giggled and grabbed Sakura's arm for support. Sakura noticed with alarm that a dark red flush was spreading across her face.

"He's c…cute!" she whispered.

"Not quite my type…but each to her own, right?" answered Sakura.

Hinata didn't answer, but promptly fainted in her arms.

Shikamaru looked at the unconscious girl, bored.

"Yeah, high school can do that to you."

* * *

Haha. I just _love_ TemaShika.


	2. Chapter 2

*sighs*

Hopefully someone else will enter an OC for "The Will of Fire"...

* * *

"Temari!" yelled a voice from across the court.

"Go find Gaara, Kankuro. I'm busy over here!" Temari grinned and snuggled into Shikamaru's chest.

"Temari. I don't think it's smart to let your brothers deal with each other. We should go."

Shikamaru stood up and grabbed his girlfriend's hand, hauling her up too.

"You goddamn smartass. I hate it when you're right."

"You mean, like always?" he smirked.

Temari grumbled.

"Come on, Tee-tee. Gotta find Gaara."

"You can come too, if you like," offered Tenten.

Sakura shrugged.

"A chance to meet more boys? Why not?"

Hinata giggled.

"I d…don't mind."

The group set off at a fast walk towards the edge of the school gates, with Hinata trailing behind a bit uncertainly. Sakura smiled at the thought of the friends she'd already made.

"My brothers may not be your type…" warned Temari.

"They will be if they're anywhere as good-looking as you are," grinned Sakura.

"Aw, you're so sweet," cooed Tenten.

"I'm starting to really like these girls," beamed Temari.

The rest of the short distance had the blonde looking worried as she sped up. The others ran after her without hesitation.

"Gaara?"

The redheaded boy turned to glower at her.

"What is it, Temari?"

"Just checkin' up on ya, little fella," a brunette boy butted in.

Gaara narrowed his sea-green eyes.

"I'm fine. And next time I need help, I'll call. So leave it, Kankuro."

His icy glare had Hinata cowering behind Sakura, who blushed slightly. Gaara really was quite good-looking.

"So…I take it that it's my duty to introduce the freshmen to this school. Welcome, girls," drawled a cold, lazy voice from behind Hinata.

The poor girl almost jumped out of her skin and fell over, but Sakura's steady grip prevented her from doing so.

"Well, if it isn't pretty-boy. Uchiha, you're late," snapped Temari.

A careless grin swept over his expression.

"Sorry, Tem. You know how it is on the first day back. Ino and the rest…" he trailed off.

"A blonde bimbo and a jerkass class president? Yeah, I know how it gets…" sniped Tenten.

"Ignore her," advised Sasuke, "she gets a bit jealous sometimes. All right. Sakura, Hinata, Gaara and Chouji. Is that right?"

The four newcomers nodded and stared curiously around, apart from Hinata, who kept her eyes firmly on the ground. Chouji's eyes widened and he grinned as he spotted the cafeteria. Gaara;s expression remained unchanged.

"The office is right that way. Now, run along, kids. Tem, I'll need to have a little talk with you."

Sasuke brushed his blue-black hair back and looked smugly at Shikamaru, who stared back boredly. The corner of his lip lifted in a smile as Temari looked back.

"Have fun with the jerk, Tem. Just remember…later today…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and swaggered off, dragging the giggling blonde girl with him.

The walk to the principal's office was quiet and rather uneventful. The group arrived at a wooden door, and Chouji stepped forward to knock twice.

Two resounding booms. A brief silence, then the door swung open silently on oiled hinges to reveal the two women.

"Ah, welcome. I'm Shizune, the vice principal and guidance counselor, and this is your Principal Tsunade-sama. Please, take a seat."

Hinata and Sakura timidly took the seats on the left. Chouji sauntered over to the right and Gaara followed.

"Welcome to Konoha High. I hope you'll have fun, learn a lot, and make new friends. What you give to this school is what you'll get in return. We'll all help each other out, so if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask one of the upper classes, staff, Shizune, or myself."

Tsunade-sama smiled and beckoned to her assistant.

"Here are your timetables and student diaries," said Shizune.

She handed the books out, then grinned.

"You're off now! Go out, get to know people, and good luck!"

They were ushered out the door, along the corridor, and back into the open area of the courtyard, where they were once again joined by Shikamaru and Tenten.

"So, how'd you like Tsunade-sama? Pretty nice, isn't she, Hinata?"

The shy girl looked up happily and nodded.

"Y…yes. I l…l…like her. And Shizune-s…sama as well."

"So, Chouji. Like the look of this place?" Shikamaru looked uninterested.

"Hell yeah! The cafeteria looks really big. I bet it serves really good food! Do _you_ like this school?"

"I can't really say. School is _such_ a drag…" he yawned.

Tenten sighed.

"You need a little more passion for life, Shika. Can't just spend all day staring at the clouds now, can we?" she enquired.

"Passion for life? Whatever…"

"Where's Temari?" came a slightly husky voice from behind Chouji.

The bigger boy turned around. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow.

"Gaara? That you?"

There was a brief silence as Gaara stared at him.

"Uh, she had to discuss the details with the other class president. Sasuke," muttered Tenten after the awkward pause.

Chouji looked around.

"Then she'll be here soon, cos' Sasuke's right over there…"

Shikamaru stiffened suddenly.

"That's not Sasuke."

Sakura saw the tension on both the older students' faces at the approaching group of boys.

"_Who are all freaking gorgeous! Tcha!" _added inner Sakura, with a wide grin.

"Th…then who a…a…are they?" asked Hinata meekly.

"The Akatsuki."

* * *

Meheheheh. Cliffy!

Ooh. I should totally add Sai into this. And hold an art contest or something. FUN!


	3. Chapter 3

Meet the Akatsuki!

* * *

"…now cue the screaming fangirls," muttered Tenten sardonically.

True to her word, a bunch of older girls rushed into their path, effectively blocking from sight the nine gorgeous seniors, while a few shy freshmen watched from the sidelines.

"It's even worse than the Sasuke Uchiha fan club," groaned Shikamaru, annoyed.

Sakura giggled to herself.

"Uh, well, they are pretty good-looking…" she murmured, under her breath.

Tenten looked at her sharply.

"They're all jerks. The playboys, the bad boys, the bullies of this school, they're all in the Akatsuki."

Hinata shivered. Choji looked unperturbed. He merely took out a bag of chips and began munching away happily, spraying Gaara with crumbs.

The little redhead's gaze darkened and he took a menacing step forward. Sakura thought she saw something shift in his eyes.

"Who is that black-haired guy? He looks a lot like Sasuke…" mused the pinkette.

"That's Itachi Uchiha, his brother. He's one of the worst."

Shikamaru gave a wry grin.

"You're itching to know about the rest of them, aren't you? What a drag. Freshman girls are all the same."

Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously upon hearing the warning undertone in his words.

"Nagato, that tall red-haired one, is the leader. Kinda mysterious, doesn't talk much, but the others all listen to him. Then there's Itachi. He's smart, aces all his classes, gets most of the girls, breaks all their hearts, and they still love him to 's Zetsu, the green haired guy. He's an environmental freak. Konan is the blue-haired girl. She loves origami and all sorts of paper crafts. Deidara, the blonde, and Sasori, the shorter redhead, are the artists of the group. Deidara works with clay, Sasori works with wood. They both make sculptures, though Sasori puts in all the details and Deidara's more abstract. They argue a lot."

"Deidara, let me put it to you this way. You say that your art disappears within a fleeting moment, and the memory is held forever, correct? But is that not the essence of art? To see it for all eternity?"

Shikamaru gave an exasperated sigh.

"Looks like they're at it again."

Tenten smiled.

"I actually find how the two of them argue kind of cute. Like they're still children squabbling over toys rather than the seniors they're supposed to be."

Gaara looked over impassively at the Akatsuki and gave a derisive smirk. Tenten ignored him and continued.

"Kisame is the ugly dude next to Itachi. He's super strong and a great swimmer, though. He's the worst bully of them all. But it's only fitting that the worst are best friends, huh? Okay, then there's Hidan, the virtually invincible guy with the grey hair. It seems like he feels no pain – or he likes it. I personally think he's on something. That would explain his constant screaming and cussing. His friend with the baseball cap who you can hardly see is Kakuzu. He's the cool, calm one. Someone has to keep that loudmouthed loser in check, right?"

"Sorry, Uchiha held me up for quite a while," huffed Temari from behind. Her cheeks were tinged with a slight pink glow and her breathing came out in ragged hitches, like she had been running.

"I think you came just in time for Tenten's introduction on teachers, right, Tee-tee?"

"Hell yeah. Would'nt want them to be unprepared for the likes of old eagle eye, would we?"

Tenten gave an ominous smile.

"Most of the teachers here are fine, really. There are just three main ones you have to look out for. Old eagle eye, Ibiki-sensei," she spat the name," Anko-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei. Ibiki's the worst. He scares the living daylights out of me. In fact, I think the only people who didn't do well in his class were the ones who didn't give a flying fuck about what he thought. Sasuke, the Akatsuki, and Shikamaru."

The younger students stared at the lazy boy with newfound respect. Temari grinned and pulled him closer.

"You bad boy," she laughed, "I remember the first day in his class – Shika was leaning back on his chair with both hands behind his head and his legs on the table, and staring out of the window at the clouds. Ibiki nearly had a fit."

Tenten laughed along with her, while Shikamaru smirked at the memory.

"He was throwing all sorts of threats at me, like calling up my parents and never graduating from his class, getting me to stay behind for detention and cleaning the school. All that jazz, and I didn't care. I mean, he wasn't the least bit scary, but his class was a total drag."

"And that Anko," Temari shivered.

"She is such a sadist. She'll watch you write your test and struggle with everything while she sits at the teacher's desk and eats dango. Ugh, she's terrible."

"All right, you've had it, you little maggots!" shrieked Shikamaru in a surprisingly high-pitched, girly voice.

Tenten and Temari burst out laughing. The brunette doubled over, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Stop…it….Shika!"

The four new students watched, bemused, as the two older girls wiped tears out of their eyes and tried to look serious.

"O…okay. Now for Kakashi. He's one of the best teachers in this school. He's smart, awesome, and damn good-looking, but he's tricky. Don't test him. He's more than capable of completely humiliating you to death."

Tenten gasped for breath and Temari leaned against her boyfriend tiredly.

The shrill sound of a bell cut into their conversation. Sakura's eyes widened as she grabbed onto her timetable and books tighter, mentally preparing herself for what to do.

"Thanks so much, Shikamaru, Tenten, Temari."

"Th…thank…you," stuttered Hinata.

"No problem, kiddos. Have fun and watch your back!"

"Don't try anything, Gaara!"

The three older students smirked to themselves and walked off.

* * *

o.O we get to meet Anko and meanie Ibiki next time :P


End file.
